John 6: 52-58, Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood

Jesus has identified himself as the "Bread of Life" and claimed the this "Bread" is his body which he gives for the life of the world.

John 6: 52-58, Take a bite; drink my blood!

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 
54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. 
55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 
56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. 
57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.
58 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 

The religious leaders continue to take Jesus literally. If this saying is taken literally, Jesus is suggesting something rather gross, that people literally take a bite out of him!

The speech is rather strange. Eternal life is being equated with eating flesh and drinking blood; these are "real food" and "real drink." This appears to be some type of deep identification with Jesus' upcoming sacrifice, clarified when he speaks at the last supper of being the Passover lamb.

The last verse summarizes the teaching through several chapters: Jesus offered the woman of Sychar living water is she believed in him and offered the people living bread is they believe in him.

I find this passage strange.

John 6: 41-51, Know the Bread of Life

All four gospels report on the stories and metaphors Jesus used to teach the crowds following him. But John's gospel, above all, emphasizes these teachings.  Here Jesus directly identifies himself as the spiritual food that everyone needs.  Those who identify with Jesus will be led by him into eternal life.

John 6: 41-45, Oh but this is just the son of Joseph!
At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 
42 They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43 “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. 
44 “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 
45 It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 

Jesus has clearly made divine claims and the Jews don't like it.  "We know where he was born," they say. "He is just an ordinary man."  Jesus responds to their grumbling by emphasizing again his divine nature and saying that people will be drawn to him only if the Father wishes it -- that those who hear God will be attracted to Jesus.

The quote in verse 45 is from Isaiah 54:13. in which Isaiah speaks of a future peaceful time for Israel, in which everyone is taught by God.

John 6: 46-51, The Bread of Life, part 2
No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 
47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 
48 I am the bread of life.
49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 
50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 
51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

In verse 46, it is Jesus who has seen God ("the Father").

The offer of eternal life is repeated.  The teaching here is direct and not in parable.  People need an "eternal bread" and Jesus offers it, with his body.  This will be explained more as the gospel of John progresses.

Jesus will continue lecturing on the spiritual "bread" as we finish this long chapter.

John 6: 34-40, The Bread of Life

After feeding over five thousand people, the crowds follow Jesus, seeking more miracles. 

John 6: 34, Give us more bread! 
“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

Jesus had responded by pointing out that in the old days of manna in the wilderness, it was God who was the actor. But the people still focus on food....

John 6: 35-40, The Bread of Life
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 
36 But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. 
37 All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. 
38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. 
39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 
40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

All four gospels report on the stories and metaphors Jesus used to teach the crowds following him. But John's gospel, above all, will emphasize these teachings.  Here Jesus directly identifies himself as the spiritual food that everyone needs.  Those who identify with Jesus will be led by him into eternal life; in that life they will have no "hunger" or "thirst" but be satisfied.

With the religious leaders' emphasis on Moses and traditions, Jesus explains that he is there, visibly in front of them, and yet they still do not believe.  The teaching continues with an emphasis on openness and acceptance ("whoever comes... I will never drive away", "I shall lose none of those...".)

Jesus' mission is to "come down from heaven" and do God's will, offering eternal life, emphasizing that this includes the resurrection at a future "last day".

John 6: 28-36, Eternal Bread

The crowds discover that Jesus has gone but only one boat is missing and so they are curious about how he crossed the sea.  Jesus doesn't answer this question but challenges the crowds to be interested in more than just physical food. 

John 6: 28-29, Give us more bread! 
28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Jesus responds to the people's inquiries by telling them that eternal life is more important than food and then simplifies this to "believe in me." 

John 6: 30-34, Give us more bread! 
So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 
31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

The quote in verse 31 is from the event in the exodus in which God gave the Israelites manna from heaven, see Exodus 16:4. This event is then later quoted in Nehemiah 9:15 and Psalm 78: 24-25. In recalling that incident, the people are relying on their Jewish heritage, harking back to a time that God took care of them directly.

The challenge that the crowd gives Jesus is dishonest.  They are following Jesus because of the intriguing miracle he did the day before, feeding them all.  Yet they ask for a sign and seem to be interested in him providing this miracle on a regular basis.  The gospels report numerous times in which Jesus responds to urgent personal needs but this is not the main focus of his ministry.

Jesus responds by pointing out that in that time (like this one), it was God who was the actor. But the people still focus on food....

John 6: 35-40, The Bread of Life
Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." 

Jesus makes the metaphor plain.  He is that eternal bread; he is the One who will keep people from being "hungry" and, as in an earlier teaching, he is the One who will keep people from being "thirsty."

This teaching continues further.  We will look at the rest of the passage tomorrow.

John 6: 22-29, What Work Does God Require?

Jesus has just fed five thousand and then crossed the Sea of Galilee, passing the disciples while walking on water. 

John 6: 22-24, Crowds follow
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 
23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 
24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

I've repeated these transition verses which we looked at briefly last time.

John 6: 25-29, The work of God
When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. 
27 Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

The crowds discover that Jesus has gone but only one boat is missing and so they are curious about how he crossed the sea.  Jesus doesn't answer this question but challenges the crowds to be interested in more than just physical food.  He, the Son of Man, is interested in providing eternal life. The crowd responds with a question that about what this means, how one does God's work.  The short answer Jesus gives is that trusting in Him is the work of God!

John 6: 14-24, Jesus Walks on Water

After feeding the 5000, we read of another miracle also covered by the other gospels.

John 6: 14-15, Jesus withdraws from the crowd
After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” 
15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

The people of the region recognize that Jesus is the Messiah.  But their expectations appear to be of political power.

John 6: 16-21, Jesus walks by on water
When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, 
17 where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. 
18 A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.
19 When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. 
20 But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” 
21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

Apparently the disciples plan to travel west across the lake, into Galilee. Obviously they are accustomed to Jesus going where he will, so they go on ahead of him. But then, among the rough weather, they see a miraculous event, Jesus walking on water.  John reports that Jesus reassures them it is he (not a ghost or a mirage) and when they take him into the boat, they reach the shore. (Is that implied as a miracle here, that they were "immediately" at shore? Or is that just an observation?)

John 6: 22-24, The crowd catches up
The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. 
23 Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. 
24 Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

The crowd (back on the eastern shore?) realize that a boat has left.  Not finding Jesus, they also go west across the water.  (Tiberias is on the western shore, in Galilee. The lake is sometimes apparently also called Lake Tiberias.)

In the next portion Jesus will explain to the crowds that there are more important things than miraculous bread.

John 6: 1-13, Feeding the Five Thousand

After the Sabbath healing in the previous chapter, and after the controversy that followed, the apostle John includes a long passage that describes Jesus as the Bread of Life, the wilderness manna for mankind.

John 6:1-13, A great crowd follows Jesus
Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), 
2 and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. 
3 Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. 
4 The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

Jesus crossed over to the "far shore", probably eastern side, of the Sea of Galilee.
As in the other gospels, he has been followed by a large crowd because of his healing ministry. mankind.  All four gospels record this event; both Matthew and Mark record a second large feeding, that of 4000. (See this Wikipedia page.)

John notes that the Jewish Passover was about to occur. There are at least three Passover feasts recorded in John.  The first is in John 2 and the last is the feast during which Jesus dies, recorded in John from chapter 12 on.

John 6: 5-11, Feeding five thousand
When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” 
6 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7 Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8 Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, 
9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10 Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). 
11 Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

Jesus seems to be testing whether Philip has a solution to the problem.  Philip can only respond that it would sure cost "200 denarii", which is translated here by the NIV as "half a year's wages." And that would only give each person a bite.

Andrew speaks up that someone nearby has a little bit of food... a comment that appears irrelevant. Yet Jesus has the people sit down and John notes that there were about five thousand men. Presumably, there were also women and children.

Jesus, in distributing food, first gives thanks and then passes out the bread and then the fish.

John 6: 12-13, Full
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” 
13 So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

And yet the food keeps going ....  When everyone had enough, Jesus tells the disciple to gather up the remainder, almost as if stressing how filling the meal was.  What began as five small laves and two small fish turns up with twelve full baskets of leftovers!

No explanation is given for this miracle.  The feeding of the five thousand is covered in all four gospels.  If this has already been covered in the other gospels, and if John seems to be skipping the major events covered in those other gospels, then why does John cover this event?  John wants to make a point. John wants to records some statements Jesus makes about the feeding that are not mentioned in the other gospels.  These statements occur after one more strange miracle.